Chapter 22: ; Military District Supply Station

Comrade Jiang Jiang again carefully prepared at home for several days, waiting for all equipment to arrive, then practiced the newly bought sword technique for several more days, delaying nearly a month, finally decided to set out for the wilderness area.

For Chu Chen, training in the wilderness area was optional; he focused more on monitoring Luofeng's situation, so delaying a few days didn't matter, thus letting Jiang Jiang prepare longer at home.

Whether for Jiang Jiang or Luofeng, entering the wilderness area is truly the first step into the martial world, which indeed should be taken seriously.

On such matters, being overly cautious is never too much; if it weren't for Chu Chen's matter, even if Jiang Jiang delayed entering the wilderness area by another ten days or half a month, it would still be short.

To become as strong as possible in these three months and increase the chance of passing the "God of War Training Camp" assessment, Jiang Jiang has already shortened her preparation time to the minimum.

People like Jiang Jiang, favored by the martial hall, are usually assigned to elite squads under the hall for training; the wilderness area differs from the monster town used in practical combat assessments—danger lurks everywhere, and a slight mistake can lead to severe injury or death, especially for newcomers.

Veterans bringing newcomers is also a common occurrence among martial artists; ordinary novice martial artists wishing to enter the wilderness area will, under the major faction they've joined, choose squads with wilderness experience to join, and in the internal network "Thunderbolt Home" of the Thunderbolt Martial Hall there is a dedicated bulletin board for recruiting novice martial artists or seeking teams.

Wang Heng naturally valued highly the prized "meat" he had struggled to snatch from the Extreme Martial Hall for Jiang Jiang, and specially contacted several excellent martial squads for her to choose from regarding her training arrangements.

However, under Chu Chen's instigation, Jiang Jiang refused them all.

……

"So you say your World Tree experience is extremely rich, and the martial squad with zero injury rate refers to just you alone!!?"

"That's right."

"Ahhh, damn Chu Chen, stinky Chu Chen! Are you trying to get me killed?"

……

Several hundred miles north of Jiangnan Base City lies a military district garrison.

Each military district garrison has a dedicated supply zone for martial artists to temporarily station; although it occupies only one or two tenths of the district, it can still accommodate tens of thousands.

A silver-white iron train slowly stopped, and fully armed martial artists stepped off one after another—about twenty or thirty of them, divided into four or five squads of twenty, with only Chu Chen and Jiang Jiang being the smallest group.

Chu Chen and Jiang Jiang were both visiting the military district supply point for the first time, so they still needed to register their squad information.

"You didn't say you've been here many times before? (ΩДΩ)"

Jiang Jiang, having been coaxed by Chu Chen, could no longer hold it together.

After finally mustering the resolve to trust Chu Chen and decide to venture into the wilderness together, she never expected that upon arriving here, Chu Chen would turn out to be a complete novice as well.

Although the saying goes that family disgrace should not be aired publicly, even though she could no longer hold back, she eventually managed to compose herself.

Following the main force into the supply base, upon seeing Chu Chen and Jiang Jiang's squad, the officer at the gate showed a strange look.

Seeing that both were newcomers, his gaze became even more peculiar.

"Are you both newcomers?"

"Hahaha, that's right, big brother, we today are just…… mmm" Jiang Jiang hadn't finished speaking when Chu Chen covered her mouth from the side.

Chu Chen, while maintaining a solemn demeanor, gave a perfunctory reply to the officer: "Actually, we're too old for this, but previously we went straight to the wilderness area via other supply stations."

If this had happened three years ago, it would naturally have been impossible, since the entire Yangzhou City led only to this wilderness supply zone; but all this changed after the World Tree appeared.

World Tree…… as for the world, since its appearance, humanity's survivable space on land battlefields has greatly increased, and the mortality and disability rates of martial artists in the wilderness area have greatly decreased; it can be said to have completely reversed humanity's pessimistic situation.

However, from the nation's perspective, there are also some unfavorable rumors about the World Tree.

The officer merely glanced over with suspicion and then didn't ask further.

He has seen many such novice martial artists who, after thinking they passed the practical assessment, become oblivious to danger; however, with current medical technology, actually going out to endure some hardship is also fine.

However, after returning they will likely owe several years of World Tree debt.

After receiving the room key card from Officer Big Brother, they swiped the electronic card and entered the room one after another, just as Jiang Jiang was about to erupt.

Chu Chen struck first.

"Very good, it seems you now understand our situation."

The sudden remark from the riddle-speaker left Jiang Jiang frozen in place; she could only see Chu Chen's back, yet she heard heaviness in his voice.

Jiang Jiang's gaze also gradually grew solemn; indeed, Chu Chen's reason for bringing the two of them out together must have a purpose.

What could it be?

Given Chu Chen's current situation and the power of a world-class organization, it's certain—it's surveillance.

Whether coming from the martial hall or joining an ordinary squad, one will enter others' fields of view; then our strength, hidden cards……

"Hiss, the martial world is indeed extremely perilous; I merely thought of the surface danger but overlooked this point, didn't I?"

It seems my growth is still insufficient.

"Most of the time, humans are far more dangerous than beasts."

Back when he was in the orphanage, Chu Chen had said something like this; is this his realm…… I'm still far too lacking.

"Hmm, I understand; I'll go rest first."

The lodging also has ears in the walls, making conversation inconvenient; Jiang Jiang already understood this fully.

Watching Jiang Jiang's cautious departing back, Chu Chen let out a long sigh of relief, having gotten past it.

At times like this, no matter how Chu Chen appeals to emotion or reason, Jiang Jiang will strongly oppose; conversely, if he merely pretends to be prepared, letting her infer the deeper meaning herself, Jiang Jiang will fill in the gaps with her own imagination, exactly as Chu Chen anticipated.

Although I don't know exactly what Jiang Jiang understood, as long as she doesn't kick up a fuss about going home to prepare thoroughly before returning, it's fine.

Meanwhile, Jiang Jiang, having returned to the room, was seriously reflecting.

Her own caution was still insufficient; it should be said not comprehensive, because while guarding against monsters she overlooked dangers from nearby, and without Chu Chen's reminder she would never have thought of it.

In this world, the only one she can fully trust is Chu Chen alone; this must be kept firmly in mind.

As for monsters, caution is not cowardice; with her current strength, facing a beast-soldier-level monster gives her a 99.99% chance of victory, but what worries Jiang Jiang more is encountering sudden events, such as a beast tide, or running into higher-level monsters.

However, since she cannot choose to trail behind others' hunting squads to gain experience, going out with Chu Chen is also the best option; in recent days, the necessary preparations have already been made.

For her own happiness!

Jiang Jiang's fighting spirit rose to 【high spirits】.

By evening, which is when most hunting squads choose to depart.

During the day, the sun is strong; even if martial artists rush in thirty- or forty-degree heat, it's still a considerable drain.

In the evening, moonlight and starlight provide illumination, and since martial artists' perception is naturally far sharper than ordinary people's, they often don't need lamps, but each squad still requires necessary lighting equipment, as an absolutely lightless environment is also extremely deadly for martial artists.

To avoid the 'evening rush hour', Chén Chén and Jiāng Jiāng only set out at seven or eight.

From the military district supply point to the hunting points of each hunting squad, the distance ranges from a few tens of kilometers to over a hundred kilometers, and many squads need several days for a round trip.

The so-called hunting points are urban areas once overrun by monsters; the monsters make use of the ruins of human civilization's buildings, thereby raising the cost of human high-tech slaughter.

Likewise, places suitable for hiding naturally also include complex mountainous and forested areas; the stronger the monster, the more it dislikes traces of human civilization, preferring to live in its own territory.

Along the highway, because the right-wing military unit deliberately 'cleared' the area nearby, and moreover the areas near the highway are relatively open—openness meaning insecurity for monsters—there are not many monsters roaming near the highway.

Of course there will also be some hotheads.

Ah~

Ah~

Although they hadn't actually entered the area near the highway, following the cries they looked over and saw in the bushes by the roadside that they had probably caught some prey and were really eating.

Jiāng Jiāng, go!